Midlife Crisis
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Spoilers up to "Diaspora". The fertility problem has been fixed. Now a grandfather, Mitch faces a dilemma when he finds out Jamie is pregnant.


**I don't own Zoo nor I will ever. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Although Mitch was grateful the fertility problem had been fixed, he still hadn't expected the fact that he'd be holding a positive pregnancy test in his hand (courtesy of Jamie) after becoming a _grandfather_. It wasn't a turn of events that he had ever seen coming, even after being held in stasis for ten years. Floundering and unsure what to say, he could only gape and stare at it. "It's positive."

Jamie rolled her eyes but it didn't erase the grin on her face. "It's positive! We're having a baby, Mitch."

He finally did smile, dropped the test on the ground, and picked her up off the ground. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

A knock on the door. "Can I come in now?" Clem's muffled voice reached them rather clearly, however.

"Did you hear everything we just said?" a suspicious Jamie questioned.

"No?" she tried.

"Where's my grandson?" Mitch tried to deflect.

"Nice stalling tactic. Morgan's taking a nap and I'd really like to hug you both now. Let me the fuck in!"

"Language!" Mitch chided.

Silence from both Jamie _and_ Clementine. "Really? With your potty mouth?" Jamie teased.

"I'm a grown woman with my own kid," an amused Clementine reminded her father.

Jamie finally gave in and opened the door. Although she had been expecting a hug, she was still caught off guard when Clem immediately pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so happy for you both! I'm _finally_ going to be a big sister! Only took a little over twenty years but that's okay." After letting go of Jamie, she hugged her father. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Clem." Mitch kissed the top of her head and left her go just as Morgan began to wail.

"I have to go check on the baby but we are going to celebrate," Clem warned as she took off towards the nursery.

"That's going to be us in a few months," Jamie said in awe as she finally started to process the news of her pregnancy.

"That's us now when Clementine doesn't want to get up," Mitch reminded his girlfriend.

She glared at him. "You know what I mean."

"I do," MItch acknowledged before kissing her and placing a hand on her stomach. "There's someone who's half of both of us in there." He was excited (and in shock) but the fact that he was a grandfather was interfering with his happiness just a bit. That was definitely something he needed to deal with.

* * *

After Jamie was given a clear bill of health during one of her appointments in the second trimester, they decided to go ahead and tell their friends. "Congratulations!" Jackson clapped Mitch on his shoulder and hugged Jamie.

"Thanks! We're pretty excited about it." Like a cliche, Jamie was glowing and Mitch had informed his girlfriend of this fact several times when she wasn't feeling well. He felt stupid every time he said it (and she rolled her eyes) but it seemed to do the trick anyway.

"I'm here if you need any advice. Although I'm sure Clem is a big help, especially since she loves you." Dariela bit her lip but congratulated them and then went off to find Isaac.

"I look forward to seeing how you two tackle the chaos of parenthood." Abe laughed at the look on their faces.

"You just like seeing us fight," Mitch shot back.

"That's a possibility." Abe then joined Jackson on the couch so they could go back to watching TV.

"I wish Chloe was here," Jamie admitted wistfully as she thought of the friend they had lost all those years and still missed. She would have been absolutely thrilled for them.

Clem saw how sad she was getting and swooped in with her son. "Morgan wants to see his grandma!" she cheerfully told her.

That snapped Jamie out of her grief. "Stop calling me that! I'm not old enough to be a grandmother, no much how I adore this little guy." But she picked up the five month old and started babbling at him.

"Thanks," Mitch mouthed at her.

"No problem," she replied, watching as Jamie and Morgan interacted.

Morgan reached his arms out to Mitch, and Jamie reluctantly handed him over. "iAunt/i Jamie's going to hold you again so don't get too comfortable."

"Grandma Jamie," sing-songed Clem, dodging the flip flop tossed in her direction.

"You're going to have a playmate in a few months. Excited for your aunt or uncle?" Mitch smirked when Morgan just giggled. His grandson always worked wonders for his mood and it was much appreciated.

As happy as he was about Jamie's pregnancy, Mitch still couldn't let go of the fact that he had a grandchild. It was irritating the fuck out of him.

* * *

In her sixth month of pregnancy, Jamie finally sat Mitch down to talk to him because she could tell something was bothering him and she was tired of ignoring it. "You have to tell me what's wrong. I'm not going to get upset, Mitch."

"A commercial made you cry this morning," he pointed out.

"That's beside the point. Something's upsetting you and I want to know what, Mitch Morgan." She rubbed her stomach when the baby kicked the side of it.

"Nothing's wrong," Mitch lied and immediately felt guilty about it.

"You want to try that again? Neither of us are leaving until you tell me what's on your mind."

He gave up on stalling and just stared at the kitchen sink for a few minutes. "I feel weird about having a baby when we … I already have a grandchild. I feel like a cliche and this is my midlife crisis even though I'm not upset you're pregnant. The situation is a little unsettling," he finally admitted. It actually felt nice to get everything out in the open. Nothing was weighing him down anymore.

Jamie didn't answer at first, scaring Mitch, but then she started to giggle. "That's your issue? Mitch, you should have said something earlier! This isn't a normal situation at all. You're not that much older than me anyway, considering what happened to you. And you're not having a midlife crisis. There's no sports car and you're not going out and fucking younger women. It's okay to be scared, you know? I'm absolutely fucking terrified about bringing a baby into our world but we're going to be okay. And you know how I know that?" She paused and waited for an answer. When Mitch shrugged, she kept talking. "Because we're together. And that sounds really fucking stupid but it's the honest truth. As long as we're together, we can kick ass and take names. Plus, Clementine's here to help and we've already gotten practice in with Morgan. This isn't going to be easy but we'll figure it out," she promised.

Mitch put his hand on Jamie's stomach and smiled when the baby kicked him. "Thanks, Jamie. Just got insecure and lost in my own head again."

"Happens to all of us but please talk to me if you feel this way again."

"I will," he vowed and then helped her stand up.

"Can we get pizza for dinner? I'm craving it like burning right now."

"That's fine with me."

"I"ll order it!" called Clementine from the living room.

Jamie paused. "We really need to do something about her eavesdropping habit."

"Good luck with that!" she yelled back.

Mitch couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from within him. "God help me, I love the two most stubborn women on the planet."

"Damn right, Dad!"

"You heard your daughter." Jamie led Mitch into the living room and they sat down on the couch together. And neither she nor Clem said a word (much, anyway) when they overheard him talking to the baby.

* * *

After seven hours of agonizing pain, Jamie delivered a healthy (and screaming) little girl into the world just a few months later with both Mitch and Clementine by her side. "I have a little sister!" Clementine fist-pumped and then tried to wipe the tears off her face.

"Why are you crying?" Mitch asked as he wiped away a few tears of his own.

Clem shrugged. "This is a very emotional situation. Don't judge," she teased.

"Still feeling like you're in the midst of a midlife crisis?" Jamie playfully asked her boyfriend as she passed their daughter to him.

He shook his head. "Definitely not."

"Morgan's going to be so excited to meet his aunt. Wow, that is weird," Clem mused to herself but she brushed it aside rather quickly.

"You want to hold your sister?" Mitch questioned his now eldest.

Clem nodded and then smiled when the newborn was placed in her arms. "You are so beautiful. Anybody tries to hurt you and I'll kick their fucking asses. Just tell me, okay? You don't have to put up with anybody's shit."

"That's actually pretty sweet," a laughing Jamie told Mitch.

"Definitely my kid," an amused Mitch replied.

The now family of five had a lot to look forward to.

Mitch and Jamie's family showed up to meet the baby after they were released from the hospital. "You look good for just having given birth two days ago," Jackson observed.

"I'm still exhausted but better get used to it." Jamie leaned against Mitch as they watched their friend interact with the newborn.

"And her name is?" probed Dariela.

"Meet Melissa Chloe Campbell-Morgan," answered Jamie. She came up with the baby's middle name and they both felt it was the right way to honor their missing family member.

"That's a pretty long name for such a tiny little girl." That came from Jackson, who had passed Melissa over to Dariela.

"It's not like we're going to call her by her full name all the time, Oz."

Abe just sighed. "You walked right into that one."

"Melissa and Morgan make me want another baby but Isaac's enough for us. At least I can get my baby fix with them when we visit." Dariela tried to look on the bright side of this.

"Good idea," Jamie answered.

"Give me my little sister, please," Clem demanded and thanked Dariela when she complied with her request.

When Morgan began to cry, Mitch got up and grabbed his grandson. "What's wrong, buddy? Are you upset you're no longer the center of attention." He returned to the couch and watched Morgan eye Melissa with disdain.

"Are you jealous?" Clem cooed. Morgan babbled his reply to her and an idea hit her out of the blue. "Why don't you give the baby a kiss?"

Mitch kept a hold of Morgan and gently leaned him over Melissa. "Give her a kiss," he encouraged.

Morgan complied and kissed the baby on his cheek before crying out for his mother. Clem handed Melissa back to Jamie and picked up her son. "I know, buddy," she cooed.

Their friends soon reluctantly departed and left them alone. When Clem and Morgan went to bed early, Mitch and Jamie stayed up with Melissa and kept checking on her in her bassinet. "We should probably sleep when she does but I'm a little wired," Mitch told her as they tried to find something to watch on TV.

"Me too," she answered with a betraying yawn.

When Jamie was distracted by the movie they were watching, Mitch grabbed a box out of his pocket, opened it, and then slipped the ring on her finger. She froze and gawked at it for a few seconds as her mind whirred. "Holy shit. We need to work on your proposals."

"Yes?"

"Yes, that's a yes, you moron." Jamie squealed (not too loudly so she wouldn't disturb the baby) and kissed him.

Mitch's unconventional proposal had worked, much to his relief, and he was so grateful he had everything he had ever wanted in life. Sure, their life was still filled with chaos but that was okay. And Jamie was just thrilled that she could finally be happy and not have to worry about the next crisis. Life had finally settled down for them and neither of them were going to waste this second chance that had been gifted to them.


End file.
